The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies
(CIHTS) was envisioned by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru in consultation
with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama with a view to educate the
youths of Tibet and the Himalayan border region.
Established in
1967, CIHTS initially functioned as a special constituent wing
of Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, Varanasi. Thereafter
the government of India reviewed the progress of the Institute
and decided to accord it a status of an autonomous body under the
Department of Culture, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India in
1977 with 100% financial support from the Govt. of India. The Institute
steadily progressed with optimal success. The Govt. of India declared
the Institute to be a "Deemed to be a University" on
5th April, 1988. Until 2000, the Institute was headed by Ven. Samdhong
Rinpoche, the now Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile.
The Institute is currently headed by Geshe Ngawang Samten as Director
and is ably assisted by learned faculty members of the Institute
in achieving its goal of excellence in the field of Tibetology,
Buddhology and Himalayan Studies.
CIHTS is also a premier Research
Institute, with a substantial staff of research scholars and many
visitors from other academic
Institutions in India and from around the world. It provides a
platform for interaction between Buddhist and non-Buddhist Indian
philosophical schools; between Buddhist and Western Philosophers;
and between Buddhist scholars and scientists.
The National Assessment
and Accredition Council, an autonomous Council established by the
UGC for assessing the quality and standard
of education of various universities and institutions in India,
accredited CIHTS with 5 Stars which is the highest grading of the
quality assurance after assessing the academic standard of the
Institute by a peer team of experts sent by NAAC. It is the only
university institution in Varanasi, and one of the two in the entire
of Northern India, to recieve the highest grading.
Departments
Dept. of Classical & Modern Languages
Dept. of Mool Shastra
Dept. of Tibetan Buddism
Dept. of Sanskrit
Dept. of Samajik Vigyan
Dept. of Sampradya Shastra
Dept. of Tibetan Language
Dept. of Tibetan Ayurvijyan and Jyotish
Dept. of Tibetan Ship Vidya
